Workplace Injury Expert Concerned By Fatal Plant Explosion

Authorities in South Yorkshire have been urged by a top workplace injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell to thoroughly investigate a fatal explosion at a recycling plant in Rotherham.

Two men were seriously hurt during the blast at the waste incinerator at Sterecycle in Rotherham on Tuesday afternoon (January 11th).

Police have confirmed that one of the victims was airlifted to Leeds General Hospital but later died, while the other is in a stable condition at Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital with serious head and body injuries.

The Health and Safety Executive is now working with police to consider what could have caused the explosion, which also led officers to close roads nearby for several hours.

David Urpeth, the Sheffield-based national head of workplace injuries at Irwin Mitchell, said: “It is vital that authorities work as quickly and as thoroughly as possible to determine the cause of this tragic work accident.

“While the amount of information released on the incident so far is small, it is clear that questions may need to be asked over the processes used at the site and the level of protection afforded to the workers.

“Whatever the outcome of investigations, it is clear that any information that can be gathered on the incident could play a vital role in ensuring that no one else suffers in a similar manner in the future.”

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